Chapter 6: The Truth Behind The Crash
I didn’t scream when I saw the picture.
That surprised me.
A few weeks earlier, I would have.
I would have dropped my phone. I would have collapsed. I would have begged someone to tell me what was happening.
But grief changes you.
Pain changes you.
And betrayal changes you the most.
I stared at the photograph again.
My nursery.
My daughter’s room.
The tiny yellow blanket Lucas bought before we even knew we were having a girl.
Someone had been inside my home.
Someone had stood there.
Someone had taken a picture just to prove they could.
“Samantha,” I whispered.
“I’m here.””
“Call the police.””
“I already did.””
A shadow moved outside my window.
I stepped back.
“Someone is still here.””
“Victoria, go to the nearest room and lock the door.””
I grabbed my phone and walked backward.
The house felt different now.
This wasn’t the place where Lucas and I built memories.
Not tonight.
Tonight it was a battlefield.
I locked myself in the bathroom and waited.
Thirty seconds.
One minute.
Five.
Then I heard it.
The front door opening.
My heart pounded.
A man’s voice echoed through the hallway.
“Victoria.””
I knew that voice.
Charles.
My father.
I opened the door slowly.
He stood there.
Not Marcus.
Not a stranger.
My own father.
“What are you doing here?””
He looked older than he had days before.
Tired.
Scared.
“I need to talk to you.””
“You broke into my house.””
“No.””
I held up my phone.
“The picture.””
His expression changed.
For the first time, I saw genuine fear.
“You received that?””
“Yes.””
He looked around.
Then lowered his voice.
“You don’t understand what’s happening.””
I almost laughed.
“You’re right. I don’t understand how my own father can drag his pregnant daughter outside and then show up pretending he’s protecting her.””
His face tightened.
“I made mistakes.””
“Mistakes?””
I stepped closer.
“You hurt me.””
Silence.
Then he said something I never expected.
“I didn’t know Marcus was going to kill Lucas.””
The world stopped.
I stared at him.
“What did you say?””
Charles looked down.
“I thought it was about money.””
My hands started shaking.
“Explain.””
He sat down.
For once, he looked like a broken man instead of a powerful one.
“Marcus came to me six months before Lucas died.””
“Why?””
“He said Lucas was planning to remove him from the company.””
“That was true.””
“I didn’t know everything.””
“You knew enough.””
Charles closed his eyes.
“He told me Lucas had changed. That Lucas was going to leave your father with nothing.””
I felt sick.
“My father?””
Charles looked at me.
“I thought he was talking about me.””
“And you believed him?””
“I was angry.””
That answer hurt more than anything.
Because it was honest.
My father hadn’t been manipulated because he loved me.
He had been manipulated because he wanted something.
“What did you do?””
He swallowed.
“I gave Marcus information.””
“What information?””
“Lucas’s schedule.””
I stepped away.
“No.””
“I didn’t know he would hurt him.””
“You gave him access.””
“I know.””
The room became silent.
I could hear my own breathing.
“You helped the man who killed my husband.””
Charles looked like he wanted to deny it.
But he couldn’t.
Because he knew.
I grabbed my phone.
“I’m calling Samantha.””
“Victoria, listen.””
“No.””
“He’s going to kill me too.””
That stopped me.
“What?””
Charles looked terrified.
“Marcus knows I’m useless now. He knows the company is protected. He knows you have the evidence.””
“Then why come here?””
“Because I found something.””
He reached into his coat.
Slowly.
Carefully.
He pulled out a small envelope.
“I stole this from Marcus.””
I didn’t take it.
“What is it?””
“Proof.””
I stared at him.
The man who betrayed me.
The man who hurt me.
The man standing in front of me because he was finally afraid.
“You expect me to trust you?””
“No.””
His voice cracked.
“I expect you to hate me.””
That was the first honest thing he had ever said.
The next morning, Samantha reviewed the contents.
Her face became pale.
“This changes everything.””
“What is it?””
She placed a document on the table.
A payment record.
Marcus had transferred money to Courtney.
Before Lucas’s accident.
“How much?””
“Two hundred thousand dollars.””
I looked at the date.
Three days before the crash.
My stomach turned.
“She was involved.””
Samantha nodded.
“Yes.””
Daniel entered the room.
He saw the papers.
Then he went completely still.
“What?””
He looked at Samantha.
“Where did you get that?””
“Charles brought it.””
Daniel’s face hardened.
“Charles?””
“Yes.””
Daniel grabbed the paper.
“Victoria…”
“What?””
“This payment wasn’t for Courtney.””
“Then who?””
He pointed at the signature.
My blood went cold.
“It was made to the person who arranged the accident.””
I looked at the name.
The name underneath the payment.
And I realized the truth.
Courtney wasn’t the mastermind.
Marcus wasn’t either.
Someone else had been pulling every string.
Someone Lucas knew.
Someone close.
May you like
Then Daniel whispered:
“The person who ordered Lucas’s death was his own brother.””
